Let Me Help You
by Raicheru
Summary: Ichigo drags himself home after battling hollows all night and Kon just wants to help. He contiues to care for the exhausted soul reaper when it looks like it may take more than a good night's sleep to heal him. KonxIchi- Fluffy, mildly suggestive
1. Chapter 1

Most of you have probably seen that I've continued this as another story. It's a rougher rated 'M' story 'I, Myself and Me' which features Kon, Ichigo and Hichigo. I like the three of them together, but I'm going to continue this one with just Kon and Ichigo (no inner hollow at all) and keep it light and fluffy. Think of it as a single starting point with two alternate story lines.

Raicheru

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I, Myself and Me- Chapter 1- Let me Help You

By: Raicheru

Rated: T (And I'll do my best to keep it that way. These two are better when they're sweet and fluffy.)

Pairing: Kon x Ichigo

Kon didn't bother to look up from his book when he heard the soft knock on the window. He could imagine Ichigo glaring at him from the other side of the glass. It hadn't been locked when he left. _Serves the bastard right to be left outside all night_, Kon thought. After unceremoniously being shoved into the teenager's body he was left to himself with the warning that he wasn't to do anything while the soul reaper was gone. The Mod soul had had enough. He refused to be pushed around.

Several quiet minutes passed before Kon looked up to see if Ichigo was still there. What he saw had him jumping out of the desk chair and racing to the window. Fumbling with the lock, he pulled the window open and caught Ichigo before he fell to the floor.

"Holy crap, what happened?" The soul reaper robes were ripped nearly beyond recognition. Orange hair was matted and blood dripped steadily from a hidden scalp wound.

"Doesn't matter. I got 'em." Ichigo pulled away from Kon. Resting the tip of his Zanpaku-to on the floor, he leaned against it for a moment. He looked around the room as if trying to find something.

"Are you okay?" Kon, who had been willing to leave the him outside all night a minute before, suddenly wanted nothing more than to help. But he knew Ichigo wouldn't want that. He hated relying on anyone. Ichigo reached for the badge that would knock Kon's soul pill from his current body. He frowned at the hand that grasped his wrist firmly and took it away from him. He peered up through disheveled bangs.

"Kon, what are you. . ?"

"Just wait a minute. You're a mess. Do you really want to get back into your body and feel every wound all over again?" Ichigo considered it for a moment.

"I'm fine."

"And I'm a captain in the Thirteen Court Guard. Get a grip." He put one of Ichigo's arms across his own shoulders and took the sword from him. Looking for a place to put it, he compromised by leaning it against the end of the bed. "Let's get you cleaned up." He led a surprisingly docile Ichigo towards the bathroom.

"What about. . ."

"Your dad's at a conference, and the girls are a at friend's house remember? There's no one else here right now, so don't worry about it."

"Oh, alright," Ichigo murmured. Kon had expected to have to fight Ichigo to get him to go along. His easy surrender was worrisome. _I wonder if I should take him to that strange guy with the hat_. As if hearing Kon's thoughts, Ichigo stood a little straighter as they headed down the hall.

Pushing the door open with his foot, Kon set Ichigo down and ran a hot bath. When he turned and reached for the white cloth belt, Ichigo slapped his hands away.

"I can do it myself. Go away." Kon immediately felt relieved when he saw the irritable scowl. Ichigo didn't seem to be as badly hurt as he thought. He'd been worried that he'd had some sort of concussion.

"No." Ichigo looked up and frowned at the mod soul that was wearing his body.

"What?"

"I'm tired of being pushed around."

"Kon, I'm too tired to fight with you right now. Just leave me alone." Ichigo stood and moved to push Kon out the door.

"Well that's just too damn bad." Identical sets of orange eyebrows rose in mirrored expressions of surprise. Kon hadn't really meant to say it like that, and Ichigo didn't expect to hear it. Kon took a deep breath and continued before he lost his resolve. "I mean it. You look like crap, and you're barely standing. Drop the damned 'I'm stronger than everybody and I can take care of myself' attitude. I'm taking care of you even if I have to beat you senseless to do it."

Ichigo just stared. Kon had never been shy about sharing his thoughts before, but this was different. They held each other's gaze for a few moments. Kon looked away first. Ichigo's protest died on his lips as he heard the soft whisper.

"Please, let me help you." At a loss for words, Ichigo felt the weight of fatigue pulling him. He leaned back against the wall and sighed.

"Okay." Kon looked back up in surprise. Part of him hadn't really expected to win. But looking closer, he could see how hurt and tired Ichigo was. It constantly amazed Kon how far Ichigo would go to protect what he cared about. That he was suddenly allowed to help the one who went out of his way to help others pleased him greatly. His musings were cut short by the wave of warm water that sloshed over his bare feet as the tub overflowed.

"Crap!" He scrambled to turn off the tap and grabbed some extra towels to soak up the worst of the flood.

"Nice move dumbass." Kon just smiled. The insult held no malice since the one giving it was fighting not to laugh.

"Whatever." He went back to help peel off the ruined black robes and let them drop in a heap. Ichigo blushed suddenly realizing he was naked in the same room with another boy even if technically both bodies were his own. It seemed too intimate somehow. "Relax. I've seen it all before. Literally." Ichigo frowned and then climbed into the tub.

"Really. And what have you been doing when I'm not around?" Kon just grinned in response. "Tch. Right now I really don't care." The hot water felt good on his sore muscles.

"None of these seem to be too bad," Kon muttered as he examined a few wounds closely.

"Nah. It looked worse than it was. I'm mostly just tired." Ichigo submerged for a moment and surfaced again causing ripples on the water's surface. Closing his eyes, he lay back and let the heat soak in. They sat in silence for a while with only the occasional sound of dripping water from the flooded tub. Ichigo opened an eye slightly as he felt Kon rub soap into his hair and start massaging his scalp, but he didn't say anything. It was kind of nice. He'd been pushing everyone away for so long, he'd forgotten what it felt like to be taken care of. He drifted pleasantly.

Long past when his fingers and toes wrinkled in the water, Ichigo felt a hand shake his shoulder. "Wake up Ichigo. Your bed'll be a lot more comfortable." Ichigo blinked sleepily and got out of the tub, stepping into the towel Kon held out for him. Fumbling it around his waist, he took another and started rubbing his hair dry.

"Hey Kon." Ichigo paused and turned to watch the other boy drain the tub and clean up the last of the spilled water. "Thanks." Kon stood drying his own hands.

"Your welcome." They stared at each other for a moment letting the quiet linger into an awkward silence. Kon scratched his head nonchalantly. "Yeah well, if you'd stuffed me back into that plush body, you'd have done everything yourself, I'd be a sopping heap on the floor and you probably would have drowned. Then where would we be?"

A damp towel hit him in the face.

Ichigo wandered back to his room with Kon trailing behind him. He was so damn tired. The bath had helped, but now all he wanted to do was sleep. Hardly noticing Kon's presence, he pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and a clean tank. It occurred to Kon that Ichigo seemed to have forgotten that he was still in his Konpaku body, but he was in no hurry to remind him. Instead, he watched the weary teenager fall gracelessly into bed and bury his head in the pillow turning his face to the wall. He seemed to have forgotten that the mod soul was still in the room with him.

Taking advantage of that but careful not to disrupt the mood, Kon knelt down on the edge of the bed. Ichigo felt the mattress dip and shifted a little to look back over his shoulder. They stared at each other quietly for a moment. Kon could see the realization dawn in the warm brown eyes that something wasn't quite normal. But instead of reaching for his badge, Ichigo huffed out a mildly irritated sigh and snuggled back down into the mattress.

Kon let out the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding. Apparently it would be too much effort to switch bodies. Good enough. Reaching out a tentative hand, Kon started to gently rub the muscles of Ichigo's shoulders.

"Hnnn. Now what're you doing?" The fatigue slurred words were barely audible. Since his hands had yet to be slapped away, Kon continued.

"Just relax,"

"Don't get any ideas." Kon couldn't help chuckling.

"Like what?"

"You know. . .ideas." He waved a hand vaguely in Kon's direction. "Just because I haven't kicked you out of my body yet, doesn't mean I've forgottenhmmmmm. . ." The complaint degenerated into a groan as Kon's fingers dug into the muscles along the length of Ichigo's spine.

"You were saying?"

"Mnnn. Nothing. Just. . want. . .to sleep. ." Ichigo's words trailed off as his consciousness faded into a deep sleep. Kon finished by trailing his fingers slowly down, stopping at the bottom edge of the tank top. He had a sudden urge to go lower, but he knew that would be taking things too far. For now. The last thought startled him so much he nearly snatched his hands away completely.

But sitting there he realized that he'd never taken the time to look at Ichigo closely. His eyes roamed over the curves of Ichigo's back and shoulders. Damp orange spikes clean from the bath. He could see the boy's profile where his face lay against the pillow, his lips parted slightly. Breaths deep and even. He really was quite beautiful. Kon smirked knowing that Ichigo would be irritated and mildly insulted if he ever said so.

Stripping down to his boxers, he slid under the covers next to Ichigo. He was so deeply asleep that he didn't react at all when Kon snuggled up behind him. It felt so good to be this close to another person. As he drifted off to sleep himself, he couldn't help hoping that this wouldn't be the last time he was allowed to do this.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm going to continue this one with just Kon and Ichigo (no inner hollow at all) and keep it fluffy and sweet. I like the two of them better that way. 'I, Myself and Me' will continue on by itself on a totally different track.

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Let Me Help You

By: Raicheru

Rated: T (I'll keep it at this rating unless there's a huge outcry for something a little more 'M.')

Ichigo woke to find Kon snuggled up behind him in bed. He sighed which just made him wiggle his way closer. So he had managed to get him in bed. Ichigo had a sneaking suspicion last night that this was where things were leading, but it appeared that he only wanted to get close. Ordinarily, he would have been annoyed. But if he were really honest with himself, it was actually kind of nice not to wake up alone. Turning a little, he poked him in the shoulder.

"Hey. Wakey, wakey." Kon blinked his eyes open and raised a brow. When he woke up completely, he realized that he had his arms wrapped around Ichigo. A hot flush creep up his neck to stain his cheeks. He'd intended to wake up first and put a little space between them. Ichigo could be kind of touchy and he _did_ keep pushing him away last night. Kon was pretty sure he only let him help because he'd been so exhausted at the time.

"Um, morning." He detached himself slowly and tried to make it look like he wasn't scooting back guiltily. Ichigo's lips curled up in a little half smile, but he didn't say anything. He just rubbed the back of his neck and watched him for a moment. When Kon didn't move, he raised his brows expectantly.

"Are you going to get up, or am I going to have to crawl over you?" Kon's blush deepened and he practically scrambled off the bed. Ichigo watched him and did his best not to laugh. For someone who could be so pushy, he seemed awfully embarrassed at the moment. He glanced around the room for his badge but didn't see it anywhere. "Hey Kon. . ." The mod soul spun around and stuttered.

"Y-yeah?"

"What did you do with my badge last night?" Kon looked around him.

"Um, can't remember." He started rummaging around in drawers and pulling out random objects before tossing them aside. Kon honestly didn't remember what he'd done with it the night before. He'd been so relieved that Ichigo had let him help, he forgotten about the rest.

"Well, I hope you can find it. I don't really want to have to make you barf your pill up just so I can have my body back." Kon turned to look at him and they both scrunched up their faces in identical looks of distaste.

"Eewww. I'll find it. Promise." He kept looking as an amused voice came from behind him.

"Before school maybe?" Kon turned around again and stuck his tongue out childishly.

"You could help me look instead of just lying around, you jerk." Ichigo laughed but he did get up. They kept looking, but after they'd checked every possible place, they still didn't have it. They widened their search to the bathroom which seemed no worse for wear after last night's flood. Kon put his hands on his hips and glanced around one more time. "Hmmm. We didn't go anywhere else. Where the hell did it go?" Ichigo sat on the edge of the tub and let out a sigh.

"You might have to go to school for me today. There's not enough time to get to Urahara's so he can use his cane."

"You could come too and switch before class. Rukia should be there." And Kon would get to hug his lovely Nii-san before coming back home.

"She went to the Soul Society for a little bit. I'm not sure when she'll be back."

"Without telling us? Why does she always do that?"

"It was kind of an emergency and she had to go right after school yesterday."

"Oh, so it's just that _you_ didn't tell me." Ichigo eyed him with a weary expression.

"Give me a break, I've been a little busy lately." He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Kon pushed away his irritation when he saw how tired Ichigo still was. He really did have a lot to deal with and the least he could do was do him this favor. He sat next to him on the edge of the tub and put his arm across his shoulders. Ichigo leaned into him a little bit and rested his head against him. They sat like that for few minutes. Until someone came in the open door. They both looked up with startled expressions as Ichigo's dad came in.

"Sorry to barge in on you son." Ichigo opened his mouth before he remembered that he was in his soul body and his dad wouldn't be able to see or hear him. He rested his head back in his hands again and waited for him to leave. Kon hastily let his arm drop knowing full well that Isshin could actually see them both. He hoped that it didn't look like he was copping a feel or anything.

"No problem. All done here. Gotta get ready for school." Isshin narrowed his eyes and pinned Kon with a strangely serious gaze. "Are you sure you're all right?" He nodded to Ichigo who wasn't really paying attention to either of them. Kon looked down at the weary soul reaper for a moment, his expression softening a little.

"He-erm" He coughed into his hand to cover the slip. He had managed not to tell Ichigo so far and he intended to keep his dad's secret for as long as he was supposed to. "_I'm_ fine. Moslty. Just a little tired is all." He wathced Isshin's reaction. "I'll be okay." He put his hand against his own chest. "_I'm_ taking care of it." Isshin regarded him for a moment before nodding.

"As long as my son is healthy and happy. That's all I really care about." Kon raised a brow. Had he just gotten his blessing or something? The older man smiled and laughed quietly as he walked away. Ichigo let out the breath he'd been holding.

"That was weird. I'm so glad he can't see me right now. Not sure how I would explain that." Kon let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, that would suck." Ichigo turned to look at him, but he was already getting up. "C'mon. I don't even know what homework to pass in." They both went back to the bedroom so Ichigo could give him a basic rundown of yesterday's assignments while he dressed. Kon was just glad that they were already done. He personally hated homework. Ichigo was actually contemplating coming with him, saying that lessons were always better first hand. "Are you kidding? No way." Kon practically shoved him down onto the bed. Which wasn't really hard. He didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight. That wasn't good. Maybe last night's fight was worse than he had thought. But he still insisted on going.

"Kon. . ."

"No." They eyed each other warily. This was the second time Kon had put his foot down. Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he watched from where he sat on the bed. His voice was quiet with just a hint of threat in it.

"Are you going to keep doing that?" Kon could see he was starting to get pissed but he just crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window.

"If you keep trying to do stupid things, then yeah."

"You seem to be a little confused about who's in charge here." Kon whirled, his anger practically sizzling across the air between them.

"And you're a complete moron who's going to run himself into the ground and get dead because you didn't listen to someone who's trying to help you." Kon threw his hands up and paced the room a couple times before facing him again. "Trying to protect everyone is a noble ambition but you won't do anyone any good if you don't take care of yourself, dammit!" He was practically shouting. Ichigo sat silently on the bed with a slightly lost expression on his face. Kon was actually afraid he was going to cry or something. He suddenly felt really bad for yelling at him. "Jeez, I'm sorry. It's just. . ."

"No. You're right. Am I. . ." Ichigo looked down at his hands, his voice quiet this time. "Am I always this bad?" Kon sighed and sat on the bed next to him. He put his arms around him and squeezed as if trying to hold him together.

"Not really. Just some of the time. But I mean it." He turned Ichigo's face to look at him. "Promise me you'll get some sleep today." Ichigo let his head fall forward onto Kon's shoulder, his reply muffled by his jacket.

"Okay." Kon smoothed a hand over his hair before getting up and putting him to bed. As Ichigo lay back on pillow, he caught Kon's hand. "Thanks." The mod soul just shrugged.

"It's okay. Rukia's usually the one beating up on you for being foolish. I'm just a stand-in as usual." Ichigo's hand tightened.

"You're not a stand-in or a substitute, Kon. Ever. Even when you're being me." Kon swallowed. He wasn't sure why that comment meant so much to him, but it did. It meant so very much. He cleared his throat.

"Um, I've got to go or I'll be late." He squeezed Ichigo's hand before leaving.

When Kon got back later that afternoon, Ichigo was sound asleep in bed. In fact, it didn't look like he'd really moved at all. Dropping the school bag on the desk, Kon sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a few strands of orange hair away from his forehead. There were still slight smudges of darkness beneath Ichigo's eyes, but at least he was relaxed. Leaning down, he took a closer look at the healing cut at his hairline that had bled so much the night before. It seemed okay. There had been a few other little injuries as well and he carefully pulled up the hem of Ichigo's shirt to get a better look. The bruises were already turning yellowish around the edges and the scrapes were scabbed over cleanly. Nothing permanent then.

Kon rubbed his thumb over a ridge of muscle without thinking. Ichigo shifted a little on the bed and he started to blush. Pulling his hands away, he pulled the cloth back down and smoothed it out with the palm of his hand. When he pulled the covers back up, his eyes kept going and he saw that Ichigo was watching him. He froze mid-motion, his fingers still curled around the edge of the blanket. Warm hands rested over his own and squeezed a little. Kon had to swallow before he could say anything.

"How are you feeling?" Ichigo shrugged.

"Still tired, but better."

"Have you eaten anything today?" As he said it, Kon realized that he was being a little pushy, but Ichigo didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah. I went downstairs earlier after everybody left." The mod soul relaxed a little. He'd been distracted all day and couldn't seem to help it.

"I'm glad you're feeling at least a little better." He glanced at the bag on the desk. Kon was going to say that would probably change when he saw the workload he got today, but decided against it. He'd take care of the homework himself. He smiled a little. Ichigo would probably need to look it over before it was passed in. Kon didn't want to tank his grades by accident. Ichigo peered up at him as he pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"What's so funny?" Kon's smile widened.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Settling at the desk, Kon took out the books and held in the sigh that threatened to escape. He glanced at the bed to see that Ichigo had closed his eyes again. But as he pulled out his pencil and a piece of paper, he heard a small chuckle from the bed.

"I thought you hated homework." Busted. But Kon took note that Ichigo made no move to get up and take the books away from him. "Just let me look at it before tomorrow." He yawned and turned over, shielding his face from the desk light and Kon could have sworn he heard a mumbled 'thanks' before he drifted off to sleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Let Me Help You- 3

Kon startled awake and groaned. He'd fallen asleep at the desk and he had to peel his cheek off the notebook where his face had been pillowed. Oh, gross. He'd been drooling. Thankfully, the page he'd slobbered on wasn't actually something he had to turn in. It was dark outside and he stretched as he glanced at the clock. Damn, he'd missed dinner. Oh well, that would give him an excuse to go down and get something so he could bring it back up here.

Ichigo was sleeping still. Kon was actually starting to get a little worried about that. How long would it take before he was better again? Sighing quietly, he headed downstairs to get something to eat. While he was rooting around in the fridge, he heard someone else come down the stairs. He didn't bother to look up. Like most male teenagers, Ichigo had that hollow leg syndrome where he seemed to put away more food than was physically possible. Nobody would bother him for looking for a snack.

"How is he?" Isshin's quiet voice startled the mod soul more than a shout would have. He knew the other man was talking specifically to him and not to Ichigo. Kon bit his lip as he stood, a container of leftovers in his hand.

"Actually, I'm not sure. He seems a little better than before but he's still really tired. Is that normal?"

"It depends on how hard he's been pushing himself. He should take it easy for a while before it gets worse."

"Yeah." Kon snorted. "Like he's going to do that even if I tell him to." He was just about to say something else but he stopped himself. Isshin was staring off into the distance as if he were in deep thought. But it was the object he was turning in his fingers that surprised Kon. The other man held Ichigo's medallion in his hand.

"I can only hang onto this so long before he goes and finds a way to get around it. And it'll only keep him from going to school for a while. He'll still be able to run off and try to fight hollows." Isshin pinned Kon with an intense look. "But you're right. He's stubborn enough that he's not going to listen to anyone about this." After a moment, he sighed and some of the tension suddenly drained from his shoulders. "I never wanted this for him."

"Well from what I hear, he kind of jumped into it head first." Kon smiled to himself. "I think he would have gotten here no matter what you initially intended." He sobered after a moment and held his hand up at Isshin's raised brow. "At least with the soul reaper thing. Not the exhaustion." Kon relaxed when the other man smiled a little.

"Yes. I think so too." Sticking the medallion into his pocket, Isshin gave Kon one last look. "Keep an eye on him, would you?"

"Um, of course." Like he'd say no. But somehow, it suddenly seemed more important than it had before. He'd said he wanted to help Ichigo and he meant it. Even if he had to protect him from himself for a little while. Kon finished loading up the tray and took it upstairs. Ichigo blinked at him in the light from the desk lamp as he came in. He eyed the contents of the tray.

"Good grief, they're going to think I'm trying to make myself get fat with all that stuff."

"Don't worry about it. There was nobody down there so they'll never know." The lie was a small one, but Kon still didn't like it much. But it couldn't be helped. It was just part of keeping Isshin's secret for now. He looked at the tray and then eyed Ichigo warily. The soul reaper caught his expression and narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"I'm not going to force feed you or anything, but if you don't eat, I'm going to keep bugging you until you do." An orange brow shot up.

"I haven't even started arguing yet."

"Consider it a preemptive comeback. I know you." Kon was relieved when Ichigo laughed. It was a little tired sounding, but it was still good to hear.

"Alright. Fine." Ichigo sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed while Kon started dividing things between the two plates he brought. "You're, uh, getting a little nurturing all of a sudden aren't you?" He frowned when Kon snorted.

"Only because you force me to." Kon caught Ichigo's darkening expression. "That wasn't a shot. Honest. I was serious when I said I wanted to help you out."

"Okay." Ichigo sighed, knowing that he hadn't meant anything by it. Aside from being really tired, his temper had also been a lot shorter lately.

"And besides, you look like crap." Kon pinned Ichigo with a bland look. "And yeah, that one was a shot." He handed Ichigo his plate and dared him to say anything about it. Ichigo just gave him a mock glare and sneered before he started eating. Around a mouthful of food, he snickered.

"Like you looked much better when you peeled yourself off the desk earlier." Ichigo grinned knowing the mod soul had thought he was still sleeping. They both laughed a little and continued eating quietly. Kon watched Ichigo out of the corner of his eye and was glad to see him get some color back. He took his plate when he was finished and put it all back on the tray so he could take it downstairs and clean up. "Hey." Kon turned at the door. Ichigo had laid back on the pillow and was watching him. "All joking aside. Thanks. I mean it." Kon just grinned.

"You're welcome." When he was gone, Ichigo sighed. He wasn't sure where this new protective attitude of Kon's had come from, but it was kind of nice to relax for once. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to do that. With a full belly, his thoughts became lazy and he felt himself drifting in and out. Ichigo wondered idly how he could manage to sleep still after being in bed all day, but the soft drowsiness pulled at him and he didn't feel like fighting it.

When Kon got back upstairs, Ichigo was out again. He paused in the doorway and leaned against the frame to watch him for a few minutes. He felt the pull of something that he couldn't quite identify. Every time he looked at Ichigo, he felt this weird little twinge in his middle. Like a strange inner tickle that caught his attention every time. What exactly was that? Ichigo sighed in his sleep and shifted on the bed, his head turning slightly toward Kon.

The mod soul came fully into the room and closed the door quietly before he started to pull his clothes off. It was getting pretty late and it looked like he was going to be pulling class duty again tomorrow. At least it would be Friday. Hopefully, Ichigo would get better over the weekend and Kon wouldn't have to go to class next week. He really didn't like going to school. It was hard trying to be pensive looking all the time as he tried to keep people from noticing that he wasn't actually Ichigo. His friends knew the difference at least and he didn't have to act around them. But they were worried too and kept asking him questions he didn't really have answers for.

Sighing, he moved Ichigo gently over before crawling into bed with him. He settled himself on the mattress and prepared to go to sleep. It was slightly different when he was in a human body than when he was in his plushie form. His thoughts were interrupted when Ichigo moved. To his surprise, the redhead turned into Kon and snuggled against his shoulder. There was that tickling twinge again. And it was more intense with the other teenager touching him. He could feel Ichigo's warm breath against his neck. Was it wrong to enjoy something that came out of another's fatigue and exhaustion? After all, if Ichigo hadn't come home battered and beaten into near unconsciousness last night, would he have ever let Kon get this close to him? Kon didn't have an answer to that either.

* * *

A wailing cry ripped across the night and both sets of chocolate eyes snapped open. Kon glanced at the clock to see that it was only two in the morning. Ichigo started to push himself up. But he couldn't quite make it when Kon's arms wrapped around him from behind.

"Wha-? Kon, let go." Ichigo twisted to glare at the mod soul. He could feel the hollow on the other side of town, its reiatsu making his muscles twitch slightly.

"Not a chance. Let that other guy take care of it." Kon could feel the hollow too, but he also felt the small shimmer of the guy with the afro that had been running around town lately. He kind of thought he was an idiot on a personal level, but he seemed capable enough. Ichigo tensed on the bed and started to struggle in earnest.

"I mean it, dammit! Get the hell off me." Ichigo's words hissed out as he tried to squirm out of Kon's hold. The mod soul fought right back, unwilling to budge. He tightened his arms and wrapped one of his legs around both of Ichigo's. With that last move, he knew he had him and he wasn't going anywhere. Kon's power lay in his lower body and he knew how to use it.

"No." There was an aggravated growl that echoed in the room, but Kon refused to be intimidated. "Ichigo, just stop." They both stilled as they felt the hollow's presence dissipate into nothing. Ichigo was breathing hard and his entire body remained tense.

"I could have. . ."

"Gotten your ass handed to you. Again." Kon buried his face in Ichigo's neck to avoid having his nose broken when the soul reaper reared back with an angry cry. At this point, it might actually be dangerous to let go. Ichigo was pissed. Kon's next words were muffled against his skin. "Think about it. If I was able to hold you here without even trying hard, do you honestly think you'd have been a match for a hollow?" The body in his arms stayed poised to escape but after a few moments, Ichigo went completely limp. Kon was almost afraid he'd passed out. But he was reassured by the sulky voice that drifted to him in the dark.

"You suck." Kon just sighed in reply. He was actually starting to get worried again. There was no way he should have been able to physically keep Ichigo from going anywhere he wanted. He was in his soul reaper body after all.

"Ichigo?" Kon pulled back a little to see that Ichigo had his eyes closed. But he wasn't asleep yet. At least not completely.

"Hnn. What?"

"What exactly happened the other night?"

"What do you mean?" Ichigo turned his head a little to look back over his shoulder.

"You came back looking pretty beat up. What happened?"

"A hollow came, I kicked its ass and I came home."

"But was there anything out of the ordinary?"

"Why does it matter?" Ichigo huffed a sigh. "I guess it was harder to deal with than I thought, okay? I. . . well." Ichigo paused, his brow furrowing.

"What?" Kon loosened his hold a little but stayed wrapped around him just in case.

"I don't know." Ichigo shifted on the bed a little. "I'm actually having a hard time remembering much before I got back here. I mean, I know I got it. But the details. . . There just aren't any."

"That's weird." Kon sighed and settled himself. There was no use forcing the information out of him if he honestly didn't remember. Maybe in the morning it would be better. "Don't worry about it I guess." He leaned forward to kiss the corner of Ichigo's jaw. "Go back to sleep." They both went still again. Ichigo was watching Kon with mild surprise and Kon was flushing to the roots of his hair. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd just done that. It just felt like something he should do. And it was nice. But judging by the look on Ichigo's face, it may have been a mistake. "I-" He tried to come up with an explanation, but couldn't quite manage. The silence stretched uncomfortably and neither knew what to say. Kon jumped when Ichigo suddenly patted his hand.

"I'll try to go back to sleep if you will." And then he was making himself comfortable. Ichigo wasn't entirely sure why Kon had done that either. But it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He was more weirded out by the thought that he kind of enjoyed it. Sort of. For that matter, he didn't mind that Kon was still holding him. He made no move to push the mod soul away even though he still had a leg wrapped around his knees. Ichigo sighed deeply, already feeling the pull of sleep rising again. They'd worry about it later. He was too tired to think about any of it right now anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Let Me Help You- 4

Ichigo had turned in Kon's arms sometime during the night and was pressed up against him. His head was tucked under the mod soul's chin and he was still deeply asleep. Kon was stroking a hand gently up and down his back, his cheek pressed to his hair. The alarm hadn't gone off yet and the dim morning light was gradually brightening the room. He was still worried and he still didn't know what to do about it. If Kon was honest with himself, last night had scared him.

While Ichigo had been struggling to get up, Kon had been able to hold him down easily. That wasn't right at all. He'd seen him take down dozens of hollows and even a Menos with less trouble than this. And while he'd been seriously injured before, he'd never seemed this run down while he was recovering. And the memory thing. There was something that wasn't right about that either.

Sighing heavily, Kon pressed his lips to Ichigo's forehead. There was only the briefest hesitation this time. It seemed to get easier to touch him, to show affection the more he held him. The quavering tickle was still there but something else was building inside him as well that he didn't quite recognize. Something that drove him to protect. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night. He'd spent the whole time holding Ichigo in his arms and trying to figure out what he was going to do.

He'd go to school today and make Ichigo promise to take it easy. And if he wasn't better by the time he got home this afternoon, he was taking him to Urahara. He'd know what to do. And Kon _had_ to do something. He'd had a brief thought about asking Ichigo's dad but Isshin had asked him to keep an eye on his son. It made him feel like he might be letting him down if he couldn't manage to take care of him for more than a day by himself.

Ichigo stirred and made a small sound. Kon ran a hand through his hair as he watched him slowly wake. Brown eyes blinked open to look at him with a half awake expression.

"Mmnnm. Hmmm. Morning." Ichigo rolled onto his back and yawned as he stretched.

"Good morning." Kon lay relaxed and let Ichigo move without any restriction. But he was pleased that he didn't immediately pull away. Actually after a deep sigh, he moved back in and lay against him. That was a little surprising. He was almost afraid of doing something that would make him pull away so he tried to remain relatively still. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Ichigo's voice _sounded_ tired and his eyes were already slipping closed again. Maybe Kon shouldn't wait until this afternoon.

"I think we need to go see that hat guy."

"No." Ichigo pushed himself up and looked down at him, his eyes clearing. His expression hardened but at the edge was something that looked like guilt. "I can't ask him for anything." They stared at each other but after a moment, Ichigo sagged a little. "I can't. . . I can't ask him for anything else. I'll be fine."

Kon opened his mouth to speak but Ichigo put a hand on his cheek. He held his gaze steadily and the mod soul found he couldn't look away.

"Please."

Looking into Ichigo's eyes, he saw a quiet desperation there. And it hurt him to see it. Kon didn't think that he could go against his wishes. At least not right now. This afternoon when he got home might be a different matter. He just hoped that he'd have the determination to do something about it. Something wasn't right with Ichigo and no matter how much he didn't want help, he might need it. But right now all he could do was sigh and nod.

"Alright."

Ichigo looked relieved as he lay back down and closed his eyes, his voice a quiet mumble. "Thank you."

By the time Kon showered and changed, Ichigo was a asleep again. He went over to the bed and pulled the blanket up to cover him. As he leaned over the bed, he couldn't quite keep himself from kissing his temple. God, what was wrong with him? Every time he looked at Ichigo, he kept wanting to do that. And now really wasn't the time. Shaking his head, he grabbed his bag and went to school. He realized almost too late that Ichigo had never looked over his homework. Kon just hoped it was right.

. . . . . . . .

"Is Ichigo alright?"

Kon blinked at Chad who was currently towering over him. He knew the larger boy probably didn't mean to corner him against the lockers like this but he was awfully damn close right now.

"H-he's okay. Just tired."

"That is highly unlikely." Ishida came forward pushed his glasses up his nose. Kon really didn't like him but he couldn't bring himself to get mad at the moment. Even past the general disdain, he seemed worried too. "Kurosaki hardly ever misses school this much unless it's for a reason. Has he gone chasing after Kuchiki again?"

"No. I told you. He's just tired." Worried or not, Kon couldn't help the surge of irritation. He was taking care of him as best he could. Why were these guys giving him such a hard time?

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Ordinarily, Kon's eyes would have been firmly plastered to Inoue's rather impressive chest as she ran up. But when she came to a stop and realized he was Kon and not Ichigo, there was a such a look of disappointment on her face. It was clouded with worry and Kon swallowed hard. He didn't like seeing her so sad.

"It's okay, he just needs a break."

Orihime bit her lip. "Do you think we could go see Ichigo after school?"

"After school? He's standing right in front of you." All four of them turned to look at Tatsuki who had come up from the other side. They tried their best not to look guilty.

"Uuuhhm. Of course." Orihime stuttered for a moment. "I just like using people's names Tatsuki-chan."

"Okaaay." Tatsuki didn't seem quite convinced. She turned to Kon. "Since when do you have people over after school?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him and Kon did his best to scowl back at her. But apparently she didn't seem quite convinced. "Are you okay, Ichigo? You look. . .different."

"I'm fine." Gripping his books he did his best to saunter off in a huff while trying to make it look like he wasn't running away. That was pretty damn close. He knew Tatsuki had known Ichigo since they were both really small. If anyone would be able to tell if he wasn't really Ichigo, it was her. Even if she didn't have any spiritual powers. He managed to avoid most everyone for the rest of the morning and tried his best to be evasive at lunch. What could he tell them? Ichigo was tired, he needed a break from all the stressful work. There wasn't much more to it that that. Kon didn't really want to bring up the hollow and the fact that Ichigo didn't remember fighting him but he wasn't sure why. Every time he thought about it, he'd find a reason not to.

After lunch, his own worry had grown. He was having trouble concentrating and nothing the teachers said was getting through to him. So he decided to skip the rest of his classes. Ichigo would be pissed but he couldn't help it. He needed to see how he was doing and calling home was out of the question. So when the bell rang, he slipped out the back and managed to duck out unnoticed.

As he walked down the streets, he kept struggling with himself over what he was going to do. If Ichigo wasn't better, would he have the determination to take him to Urahara anyway? Or would he fold like he had this morning? Would it only take one pitiful look from the exhausted redhead to make him back down again? He huffed a breath and didn't like the he didn't have a definitive answer for that.

His head snapped up as he felt a hollow tear its way into the human world. Hopefully that afro guy would get it. Warily, he kept walking home, his jaw clenched. He never liked the feeling a hollow gave him in the pit of his stomach. It was a quaver of such wrongness. Something steeped so deeply in death had no place in the human world and the contradiction made him a little ill.

Kon stopped in his tracks as he felt a familiar reiatsu moving to intercept the hollow. It wasn't the shinigami that was in charge of the town. It was the stupid redhead that didn't know when to take it easy. Kon took off, his legs carrying him almost faster than the eye could see. He didn't care if anyone saw him. Ichigo was in no shape to take on a hollow right now. He could barely get out of his own way.

When Kon got close enough, he could see the hollow towering over a grassy riverbank, it's sinuous body trailing down into the river. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the person it held in one of its disturbingly human looking arms. Ichigo hung limp in its grip, his head slumped forward onto his chest while the hollow stroked his hair in a gesture of mock affection. It looked up with a lazy smile on its masked face as Kon approached. There was a hint of surprise in its glowing, sunken eyes as the mod soul got closer.

"For a moment, I almost thought there were two of him." It's eyes narrowed. "But you're not him." He shifted his grip on Ichigo who looked like he was unconscious. His eyes were closed and his face was lax and Kon felt a surge of terrified anger that momentarily overrode his common sense.

"Let him go!"

"Hmnph. Why would I do that? He's the tastiest morsel I've come across in some time. Pity he didn't try to use his powers these last two days. I enjoy full meals rather than tiny snacks."

Kon wasn't sure what the hell it was talking about but he didn't care as he ran forward and attacked. It seemed amused by his actions which just pissed him off even more. He managed to land a hard kick to its midsection and there was a small grunt from the hollow.

"You pack more of a punch than I thought." Its huge tail swept out of the water and smacked Kon aside like he was hardly there. He hit the ground hard and felt the air whoosh out of his lungs. "But you're hardly worth my time." The hollow reared up with Ichigo still in its grip as the tail came down to crush him. Kon managed to roll to the side. Barely. He felt the ground shake with the impact.

Rolling up onto his feet, he leapt to attack it again. Maybe he could get it to drop Ichigo. If Kon could just get a big enough opening to grab him, he could take him and run to Urahara's. He could outrun this thing. He had to. With a twisting motion, the hollow ducked out of his way and Kon had to scramble when he hit the ground. His stumbling steps nearly took him to the water's edge.

"You're fun to play with."

"Screw you! You can't have him!" Kon was a little surprised at the possessiveness of his own words but he found that he meant them.

"Hmmm. Maybe you're the one that's been interfering. I can't have that. I might be able to salvage something of this after all." The hollow swung his tail around and caught Kon in the hip, sending him sprawling to the ground. The wind was knocked from his already taxed lungs as he tried to roll over. Something struck him across the face and everything went dark.

. . . . . . .

The first thing Kon noticed was pain. There was a horrible aching throb in his head that threatened to make it crack from the inside.

"I can't believe you did something so stupid." Ichigo's angry hiss sounded awfully close.

"Hnn-whaa?" Kon groaned and tried to pry his eyes open. Blinking painfully, he caught sight of an extremely pissed off redhead that was hovering above him. "What happened?"

"What happened? You nearly got killed is what happened. And in my body no less. What did you think you were doing?"

"Doing?" Kon levered himself up and found that he was lying on Ichigo's bed. But he didn't remember getting there. For that matter, he didn't remember anything at all after he left school. A quick glance outside showed that it was dark. He blinked at Ichigo. "What were _you_ doing?"

"I-" Ichigo narrowed his eyes but the anger slowly faded from his face. He looked like he was confused as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I was fighting a hollow. I think." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Kon reached out and touched his cheek and Ichigo turned to him, his expression softening. He sighed softly. "Are you okay, Kon?"

"Yeah, I guess." Kon rubbed his thumb along Ichigo's cheekbone before letting his hand drop. "I don't really remember much actually."

"Well, I think I got the hollow. The next thing I know, I see you unconscious on the ground so I brought you home." Ichigo slumped on the bed. "Feels like it kicked the crap out of me."

Kon could see a few cuts and bruises but when he leaned forward, he hissed in a breath as pain bloomed along his side.

"Careful, you look like you got the crap kicked out of you too. I figured you jumped in to help and got in over your head." Ichigo frowned again, his lip curling. "I left you in there on purpose too, you jerk. Feel that for a while. Serves you right for being dumb."

"Sorry," Kon mumbled. He heard Ichigo sigh again and couldn't help but do the same. It was probably better that Ichigo didn't get back into his body right away. The combination of injuries might be pretty bad if they hit him all at once. Kon winced as something cold was pressed against his forehead. Ichigo had an ice pack in his hand and an irritated expression on his face.

"You've got a shiner growing here. Try to take better care of my body so it doesn't make me look like I'm a total sissy."

Kon smirked and reached up to hold the pack in place and was relieved to see Ichigo smile a little in return. It still didn't solve their problem, which he couldn't even remember at the moment, but they were okay. He pushed down the strange feeling of apprehension that had settled in his middle. If it was important, he'd remember it later.


End file.
